Let's learn about the career and private life of Ashton Kutcher, who made the transition from modeling to the world of television and cinema, starred in many TV series and films, as well as became popular with his philanthropy, sensitivity and helpfulness.
His full name is Christopher Ashton Kutcher, he was born on February 7, 1978 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was born to his mother, Diane Finnegan, a company employee named Procter & Gamble, and his father, factory worker Larry M. Kutcher. Kutcher has Czech, German, and Irish roots.
Growing up in a Catholic family, Kutcher has an older sister named Tausha and a twin brother named Michael. His twin brother, Michael, had a heart problem and also had cerebral palsy. His brother's illness made Kutcher's home life more stressful. At the age of 13, he considered committing suicide to save his brother from heart transplant surgery. Kutcher, who wanted to save his brother by thinking of jumping from a hospital balcony, gave up on his decision when doctors announced that he was going to have a heart transplant from another state.
Beginning his education at Washington High School in Cedar Rapids, Kutcher attended Clear Creek–Amana High School after his family moved to Homestead, Iowa. During his high school years, he furthered his interest in acting and took part in school plays. In his last year of school, he entered high school at midnight with his cousin to steal money and was arrested after he was caught. Kutcher, who was convicted of third degree theft, resulted in three years probation and 180 hours of community service. Although Kutcher said he corrected himself after this experience, he said that he lost his girlfriend, the university scholarships he wanted to study at, and was ostracized at school, where he lived, and in his environment.
Enrolling at the University of Iowa in August 1996, Kutcher's planned major was biochemical engineering. The reason was his desire to cure his brother's heart condition. Kicked out of his home for being too "noisy" and "wild" in college, Kutcher took a hired job in the grain division of the General Mills factory in Cedar Rapids to earn his school tuition. Later, at The Airliner bar in Iowa, a model scout approached his and told his to enter the "Fresh Faces of Iowa" modeling contest. Kutcher, who participated in the competition, was awarded with a trip to New York City's International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Congress as the winner of the competition.
Deciding to stay in New York, Kutcher signed with Next modeling agency. He then appeared in commercials for the Calvin Klein company. At the same time, he continued modeling in Paris and Milan. After his success in modeling, Kutcher moved to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career.
From 1998 to 2006, he appeared as Michael Kelso on the television era teen series "That '70s Show". During this time, he appeared in many different films. His first came with his appearance in the stoner comedy "Dude, Where's My Car?" (2000). Although the film was criticized by most critics, it was a huge success at the box office. At the same time, it also gained a cult status. He then made his debut in the romantic comedy movie "Just Married" (2003), starring alongside Brittany Murphy. The film, which received generally negative reviews, was successful at the box office.
Later in the year, he co-starred with Tara Reid and Terence Stamp in the comedy movie "My Boss's Daughter" directed by David Zucker. The film received both negative reviews and ended up as a box office fiasco. That same year, he appeared in the family comedy "Cheaper by the Dozen" as a self-obsessed actor. Despite all the criticism, the movie was successful at the box office.
In 2003, Kutcher took part in producing and presenting his own prank reality TV series "Punk'd" broadcast on MTV, which included hidden camera tricks performed on celebrities. He continued this duty until 2007. He has also served as executive producer of the reality television shows "Beauty and the Geek", "Adventures in Hollyhood", "The Real Wedding Crashers" and the game show "Opportunity Knocks".
The following year, he landed the role of a contradictory young man traveling through time in the sci-fi thriller "The Butterfly Effect," co-starring with Amy Smart. While the film received negative and poor reviews, it was a huge financial success at the box office. It was also nominated for awards in various categories. Later, he appeared in the comedy "Guess Who" (2005) with Bernie Mac and Zoë Saldaña. The film received mixed reviews and grossed almost three times its production budget at the box office. Later that year, he co-starred with Amanda Peet in the romantic comedy-drama film "A Lot Like Love" directed by Nigel Cole. The film was met with both mixed reviews and moderate box office success.
The following year, he co-starred with Kevin Costner and Melissa Sagemiller in the action adventure movie "The Guardian" directed by Andrew Davis. The film received mixed reviews and was a moderate success at the box office. Later in the year, he appeared in the drama film "Bobby" written and directed by Emilio Estevez. The film received mixed and average reviews and average results at the box office. Later, he acted as a voice actor in the animated adventure comedy "Open Season" (2006). Despite receiving mixed reviews from both critics and audiences, the film was a huge success at the box office.
In 2008, he co-starred with Cameron Diaz in the romantic comedy "What Happens in Vegas" directed by Tom Vaughan. The film, which received negative reviews from critics, was successful at the box office. Later, he appeared with Michelle Pfeiffer in the romantic drama film "Personal Effects" directed by David Hollander. He then had the lead role in the sex comedy "Spread" directed by David Mackenzie.
In the following years, Kutcher co-produced and co-starred with Katherine Heigl in the action comedy movie "Killers" (2010), in which he portrayed a hitman. The film, which received negative reviews from critics, resulted in a healthy financial return at the box office. That same year, he was part of a large cast in the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day" directed by Garry Marshall. The film, which received negative reviews, resulted in a huge win at the box office.
In May 2011, Kutcher appeared as Walden Schmidt on the CBS tv sitcom "Two and a Half Men" from season 9 to season 12. Kucther, who made his character debut on September 19, 2011, was watched by 28.7 million viewers, more than any episode in the show's first eight seasons. The series concluded with a forty-minute finale on February 19, 2015. During this time, he co-starred with Natalie Portman in the romantic comedy "No Strings Attached" directed by Ivan Reitman. Upon its release, the film received mixed reviews and was successful at the box office.
Also in 2011, he appeared as part of a large cast in the romantic comedy "New Year's Eve" directed by Garry Marshall. Released on December 9, 2011, the film resulted in both negative reviews and moderate box office success. In 2013, he appeared in the lead role in the biographical drama movie "Jobs" based on the life of Steve Jobs.
Kutcher guest-starred on Shark in the seventh season of the reality TV drama show "Shark Tank", which premiered on September 25, 2015. In 2016, he starred in the episode "Candy, Quahog Marshmallow" of the animated sitcom "Family Guy". From 2016 to 2020, Kutcher played the role of a farmer's son, Colt Bennett, in the Netflix TV series "The Ranch," alongside Danny Masterson, Elisha Cuthbert, and Debra Winger.
In 2022, he starred as Quentin Sellers in the black comedy mystery film "Vengeance" written and directed by BJ Novak. The film managed to garner generally positive reviews from critics. In 2023, he co-starred with Reese Witherspoon in the romantic comedy movie "Your Place or Mine" written and directed by Aline Brosh McKenna. The movie, which was released on Netflix on February 10, 2023, garnered mixed and negative reviews due to the incompatibility of the leading roles. That same year, Kutcher guest starred in the sequel "That '90s Show."
Personal life
In February 2001, a woman named Ashley Ellerin, whom Kutcher was dating at the time, was murdered by serial killer Michael Gargiulo. In late 2002, Kutcher began a relationship with actress Brittany Murphy. The following year, Kutcher met actress Demi Moore. The couple got married on September 24, 2005 and decided to end their marriage six months later. The couple divorced on November 27, 2013.
In the first half of 2012, Kutcher began a relationship with actress Mila Kunis. The couple got engaged in February 2014. The couple had a daughter born in October 2014. Later, the couple got married in July 2015. The couple had a son, born in November 2016. Kutcher lives with his family in a farmhouse in Beverly Hills.
Kutcher, who describes himself as a fiscally conservative and social liberal, supports new gun laws to stop mass killings despite owning a gun. Trained in Brazilian jiu-jitsu martial arts, Kutcher holds a brown belt. Growing up as a Roman Catholic, Kutcher practices Kabbalah and visited Israel to study the Torah. On November 6, 2022, Kutcher completed the 2022 New York City Marathon and the marathon in 3:54:01. In August 2022, Kutcher said that two years ago he was diagnosed with a disease called vasculitis, which impairs his hearing, vision and mobility for a year.
In 2013, Kutcher met with Evan Beard and Kendall Dabaghi and founded the media company "A Plus", of which he is the chairman of the board. Originally a product discovery service, the company transformed in April 2014 into a social media-focused content platform focused on positive stories. In 2010, he was named "Favorite Web Celebrity" by the People's Choice Awards in the US for having the most followers on Twitter.
Kutcher took part in advertising campaigns, support funds, signature programs or material and moral support for many institutions, organizations, associations or media in various fields throughout his life. Kutcher, whose name we often hear for his philanthropy and benevolence, did not hesitate to use his social media accounts to support them.
At the same time, Kutcher founded a company called "Katalyst Network" with Jason Goldberg in 2000 and added an interactive section called Katalyst Media in 2005. Investing in several high-tech startups beyond the entertainment world, Kutcher has invested in six different startups as of August 2017. These were: "Neighbourly", "Zenreach", "ResearchGate", "Duolingo", "Kopari Beauty" and finally "Lemonade".
He is also involved in co-founding venture capital firm "A-Grade Investments" with Kucther, Guy Oseary and Ron Burkle and Chris Hollod. On October 29, 2013, technology company Lenovo hired Kutcher as a product engineer. Also, Kutcher was part of the management team of "Ooma", a technology company launched in September 2007. Ooma was involved in the Voice Over Internet Protocol business and Kutcher's role was Creative Director. Leading a marketing campaign, Kucther produced viral videos to promote it. In the summer of 2008, Ooma decided to renew its sales and marketing strategy with a new management team and Kutcher replaced as creative director.